Welcome to the Barnet Together (21 October 2021) newsletter featuring news, grants, training opportunities...

A reminder that there is now just over a week to apply for the Barnet Community Innovation Fund. This is an exciting opportunity for organisations to deliver new projects to improve the fitness of Barnet residents.  Do get in touch!

Ellen Cheshire, Voluntary and Community Sector Support Lead ellen@inclusionbarnet.org.uk 

Barnet Community Innovation Fund

10 days left to apply!

Round 2 of the the Barnet Council-led Community Innovation Fund (CIF) closes at 5pm on Monday 1 November. 

The website has been updated with the latest funding criteria and the application form. 

This is  joint initiative with local NHS partners and Barnet's volunteer, community, social enterprise and faith (VCSEF) organisations represented by Barnet Together. Round 2's funding pot is £320,000 with funding bands of up to £2,000, up to £10,000 and up to £65,000.

The four funding priorities in Round 2 are:

1. Mental Health and Wellbeing support particularly focusing on pandemic related crisis support and interventions
2. Initiatives that promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
3. Sustainable Green Spaces for healthy leisure projects
4. Projects supporting Families, Children  and Young people, with a particular focus on family health

Debra Yardley and EIlen Cheshire will be able to support anyone looking to find a partner organisation or be that critical friend to ensure your application is the best it can be. If you have any questions about the fund, please contact Marta Montague, Community Innovation Fund Manager.

Postcode Dream Fund

The Postcode Dream Fund gives organisations the chance to deliver the project they have always dreamed of, but never had the opportunity to bring to life. Charities are asked to think big, be ambitious & collaborate with other not-for-profit partners to deliver their dream project.

The focus of this year's Dream Fund is:

1. Environment/conservation.
2. Social inequality.
3. Pandemic recovery.

Deadline: Monday 1 November, 5.30pm

City Bridge Trust

City Bridge Trust Small Grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 per year are available for a maximum of five years, for the following areas of work:

• Greening and growing projects which bring communities together and improve the local environment.
• A project which enables disabled people and/or older people who are disadvantaged to actively participate in the arts, sports and health and wellbeing opportunities.

Groups working in London with an income of less than £100,000 can apply for Capital funding, Revenue funding, or a mixture of the two. A revenue grant cannot be for more than 50% of the organisation’s annual turnover, based on the most recent set of accounts (as opposed to future budgets/forecasts).

Apply now, turnaround 12 weeks.

The Thomas Wall Trust 

The Trust recognises that communication is underpinned by a set of key features and skills such as empathy, listening, emotional intelligence, confidence, and clarity, amongst others.

The Trust offer grants up to £5,000 to specific projects or core activities that develop these critical life skills for people from disadvantaged groups.

Applications welcomed from registered charities who have been going for more than 3 years and whose annual turnover does not exceed £500,000.

Deadline for 1st stage applications is Monday 10 January 2022.

Community Play Challenge - Funding Available

Did you know that more than half of all children have less than one hour of outdoor play each day? Working with the Real Play Coalition, ChangeX is facilitating funding that will bring play back to children’s everyday in the London Boroughs of Barnet, Redbridge and Lambeth. 

The Real Play Coalition is a non-profit alliance between UNICEF, National Geographic, Arup, IKEA and LEGO Foundation. Its ambition is to create a movement that will narrow the play gap for 100 million children by 2030; making play globally accessible, integrated and inclusive.

Through this Challenge, you (an individual, an existing local group or a community organisation) can start a new project to create more playful experiences for children in your community, school or neighbourhood.

Funding is on a first come first serve basis so the sooner applicants choose to their chosen project, the more likely they will be allocated funding.

Take Part in the Barnet Together State of the Sector Survey

Barnet Together want to understand the experiences and the needs of the VCFS organisations in Barnet after a period of extreme change and as we enter recovery from the pandemic.

By completing this survey, you will help build a picture of the support required to meet the needs of our sector over the next two years and support recovery from the pandemic and enable local groups to establish their sustainability. 

Become a Trustee at Inclusion Barnet

Are you a disabled person with an interest in disability rights and disability services?  Would you like to shape the future of Inclusion Barnet? 

Then, think about becoming a trustee. 

Requirements are internet connection with Zoom and email and the ability to attend 4 online meetings a year. 

Email Inclusion Barnet's CEO, Caroline Collier caroline@inclusionbarnet.org.uk if you’re interested in learning more. 

Are you looking for new trustees?

Here are five useful online resources for you to use as a starting point when looking to recruit new trustees.

Volunteering Barnet have loads of great resources for recruiting volunteers, which would include Trustees.

The Civil Society has an easy to use (FREE) Guide to Recruiting Trustees.

DSC have produced From Here to Diversity: A practical guide to recruiting Black and Asian charity trustees (cost £9.95)

Check out the important work the Young Trustees Movement are doing.

If you are looking to recruit a Trustee or Volunteers you can advertise for free on CharityJob.

Health Promotion in Barnet

Brook has been commissioned by the London Borough of Barnet to provide a community HIV prevention service to all adults in Barnet, helping to reduce the rate of late HIV diagnosis.

As part of the service, they will be providing Training for professionals
who work in Barnet with the aim of
improving their knowledge, skills on key topics associated with sexual health and HIV prevention. Forthcoming  training sessions: 

11/11/2021: HIV: transmission, testing and treatment

25/11/2021: Stigma & attitude: changing the landscape of HIV

07/12/2021: Working with people living with HIV

For more information on these training sessions and their other outreach and education services email 
raeena.hirve@brook.org.uk.

Join Together in Barnet for sponsored walk on the Sunday 31 October 2021

Since March 2020 with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic the services Together in Barnet offer to homeless men and women in Barnet are exponentially more essential and significantly more expensive.

To this end they've organised a sponsored walk - Walk in Their Shoes 2021 - where we will walk approximately 10 miles on Sunday 31October. The walk will be around the Borough between several of the community venues that both hosted the night shelter for many years and have continued to offer vital support to the charity with provision of daily hot meals for our guests at the hotel, and delivery of essential food parcels across North London for the past 18 months.

They are asking participants for a £25 registration fee and requesting that they also raise a further £25 in sponsorship. They will receive a Together in Barnet 'Walk in Their Shoes 2021' t-shirt; and will witness first-hand the incredible communities that support the charity. 

There are regular stops for drinks at all the community venues. Participants can walk as fast or slow as they would like.  If you would like to set up a justgiving page to raise money for the walk, you can do so by visiting Together in Barnet's JustGiving event page.

Sign up to Barnet’s voluntary sector Manifesto

Barnet Together is calling for community, voluntary, social enterprise and faith (VCSEF) groups as well as statutory organisations and businesses operating in the borough of Barnet, to sign up to the Barnet Voluntary Sector Manifesto.

The aim of the Manifesto is to create better understanding and deeper cross-sector collaboration between organisations working within Barnet. By signing up to the Manifesto, groups and service providers agree to adhere to the values within the document. 

If you are a representative of a group, service provider or business based in or serving Barnet, then you can sign up to the Barnet Voluntary Manifesto.

#WorkingTogether
#StrongerTogether
#BarnetTogether

Communities Together Network 

For more information about local events, national campaigns and updates from Barnet Council, drop Danusia an email and ask to be added to the Communities Together Network bulletin.
Danusia.Brzezicka@Barnet.gov.uk